Search market stats for December 2012 revealed

Over the course of the month, Google.com and Google.co.uk received a combined total of 90.57 per cent of UK search volume. This is a large dip of 0.49 per cent compared to its November 2012 search engine market share, and is in fact the lowest its search volume has been throughout 2012. Meanwhile, Yahoo is up to 2.4 per cent of UK search volume, and Ask is up to 0.65. Bing is up by 0.10 to 4.83, the highest its search volume has been all year.

Contrasting fortunes in 2012

2012 saw Bing maintain a strong search engine market share, edging ever closer to 5 per cent in the UK. Microsoft was also boosted in 2012 by the success of the Windows 8 operating system and Internet Explorer 10 browser, both of which use Bing as their default search engine. Bing also began an aggressive marketing campaign inviting users to compare its results to those of Google.

Yahoo started the year badly, with CEO Scott Thompson stepping down in May. However, the appointment of Marissa Mayer in July was seen by many as a turnaround. Yahoo has failed to make much impact on search engine market share this year, but it is unclear whether search is still a big focus for the company.

EU rulings, FTC fines, privacy policy outcry, tax controversies and Samsung’s patent battle with Apple have all affected Google in 2012, while the search engine has seen something of a decline in market share in 2012. However, with just over 90 per cent of UK search volume it remains the clear leader.

Below are the UK search engine market share stats for December 2012, using data from StatCounter Global Stats:

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